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Granite Cove

California > High Desert > Mojave National… > Granite Mountains

Description

Granite Cove is a secluded area on the northeast side of the Granite Mountains that offers free camping, wild scenery and numerous climbable rock formations. The rock itself is quartz monzonite, the same rock as Joshua Tree National Park, and like there rock quality varies considerably but overall tends to be of a lesser quality than Joshua Tree NP. 

Some of the many formations here include Piton Pinnacle (aka The Tower of Power), The Pyramid, The Hobblestone, The Brain, Jailbreak Wall, The Eagle's Head and The Hand.

  • Climbing has been going on here for decades but is not well documented - hopefully this can help that situation.

Getting There

Drive north of I-40 on Kelbaker Road and take the first left turn after Granite Pass. The road leads west and then south to the secluded Granite Cove which has a number of developed campsites and zero amenities - pack it in, pack it out and leave the area cleaner than you find it.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Jim Hammerle on the FA of Cookies and Kropf (5.10), Granite Mountains (January 1990)
[Hide Photo] Jim Hammerle on the FA of Cookies and Kropf (5.10), Granite Mountains (January 1990)
The Pyramid, Granite Cove
[Hide Photo] The Pyramid, Granite Cove

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] I've been camping here for several years and so far I have found 5 bolted routes. The bolts seem fairly new. One of the climbs looks like a 3-4 pitch bolted face climb on the left center of pyramid. No beta for anything in the area. The granite is similar to Jumbo Rocks area in Joshua Tree. The best way to describe the rock is granite with small sharp rocks mixed in that didn't melt. Much less uniform than sierra or JT rock. Would love some beta... Mar 21, 2021